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examBoard: Cambridge
examType: IGCSE
lessonTitle: Case Study: Tropical Storm/Flood/Drought Management
Natural hazards can cause devastating impacts on communities around the world. Understanding how to manage these hazards is crucial for reducing their impacts on people, property and the environment. This guide focuses on three major hazards: tropical storms, floods and droughts.
Key Definitions:
Tropical storms, floods and droughts affect millions of people each year. They can destroy homes, damage crops, contaminate water supplies and cause loss of life. Climate change is making these hazards more frequent and severe in many regions. Learning how to manage these hazards is essential for creating resilient communities.
Hazard management involves three main stages: prediction and warning, preparation and response. Effective management combines both hard engineering (physical structures) and soft engineering (natural solutions and community preparation). The best approaches are often specific to local conditions and resources.
Tropical storms (also called hurricanes, cyclones, or typhoons in different regions) form over warm ocean waters and can cause multiple hazards including strong winds, storm surges and heavy rainfall.
Modern technology has greatly improved our ability to predict tropical storms:
Physical defences against storms include storm shelters, reinforced buildings, sea walls and elevated structures. Building codes in storm-prone areas often require wind-resistant designs and materials.
Natural buffers like mangrove forests, coral reefs and coastal wetlands can reduce storm surge impacts. Protecting and restoring these ecosystems is increasingly recognised as cost-effective protection.
Education programmes teach communities how to prepare emergency kits, secure homes and follow evacuation procedures. Regular drills help ensure people know what to do when warnings are issued.
When Cyclone Phailin hit Odisha, India in 2013, it was the strongest storm to hit the region in 14 years. However, while a similar cyclone in 1999 killed nearly 10,000 people, Phailin resulted in fewer than 50 deaths. This dramatic improvement was due to:
This case demonstrates how effective prediction, preparation and evacuation can dramatically reduce loss of life, even when property damage remains significant.
Floods can be caused by heavy rainfall, storm surges, rapid snowmelt, or dam failures. They are among the most common natural hazards globally.
Traditional flood management often relies on built structures:
While effective, these approaches can be expensive and may transfer flood risk downstream.
Natural flood management works with natural processes:
These approaches often provide additional benefits like improved biodiversity and recreation opportunities.
The Netherlands, with much of its land below sea level, has shifted from solely relying on dikes and barriers to a more integrated approach. The "Room for the River" programme (2007-2015) included:
This €2.3 billion programme has successfully reduced flood risk while creating new recreational areas and wildlife habitats. It represents a shift from fighting against water to living with it.
Droughts develop slowly but can have devastating impacts on agriculture, water supplies and ecosystems. Climate change is increasing drought frequency and severity in many regions.
Effective drought management begins with monitoring systems that track:
These indicators help identify developing droughts before severe impacts occur, allowing for early action.
Increasing water storage and efficiency through reservoirs, groundwater recharge, rainwater harvesting and reducing leakage in distribution systems. Desalination plants can provide additional water in coastal areas.
Drought-resistant crop varieties, efficient irrigation systems (like drip irrigation), soil moisture conservation techniques and changing planting times can help farmers cope with water scarcity.
Drought management plans, water conservation campaigns, water pricing strategies and restrictions on non-essential water use can help communities manage limited water resources during drought periods.
Australia experienced its worst drought on record from 1997-2009, known as the Millennium Drought. The city of Melbourne reduced its water consumption by 50% through:
These measures helped the city avoid running out of water despite reservoir levels falling to just 25% capacity. Many of these water-saving habits have continued even after the drought ended.
The most effective approaches to managing natural hazards consider multiple hazards together and integrate management across different sectors and levels of government.
As climate change increases the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, hazard management must evolve. Future approaches will likely include:
The goal is to move from reactive disaster response to proactive risk reduction that creates safer, more resilient communities.
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